Self-help merchandising device



y 1933- w. A. McEWEN 2,118,320

SELF HELP MERCHANDISING DEVICE Filed May 13, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR. WILLIAM A McEwEN ATTORNEY.

May 24, 1938. w. A. McEWEN SELF HELP MERCHANDISING DEVICE Filed May 13,1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 \\FFT\\ 2e 27 I I INVENTOR.

BY WILL/m7 Fl. NcE WEN ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 24, 1938 UNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,118,320 SELF-HELPMERCHANDISING inazvrcr:v

William A. McEwen, La Grande, Oreg.

Application May 13, 1935, Serial No. 21,195

7 Claims.

The invention relates to a merchandising device for association with anarticle of merchandise which is disposed for itsremoval by a prospectivecustomer.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved merchandisingmethod and means whereby a prospective purchaser is primarily invited toremove and examine an article of merchandise and is thereafter urged topurchase the article under examination, all in accordance with theindications of achangeable sign which is automatically controlled by therespective dispositions of the article.

Another object is to provide a merchandising device of the self-helptype whereby the removal of an article from a support therefor ispositively and secretly signalled to an attendant.

A further object is to provide a device of the character describedwherein the. control mechanism is concealed from view.

The device possesses other objects and features of advantage, some ofwhich, with the foregoing, will be set forth or be apparent in thefollowing description of a typical embodiment of the device and in theaccompanying drawings, in

which, 7

Figure l is a perspective view of a unit embodying the means of thepresent merchandising device and having a full number of articles ofmerchandise associated therewith.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the unit as it appears following theremoval of one article of merchandise therefrom.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the unit, the merchandise articles beingremoved.

Figure 4 is a rear face view of a sign pane of the unit.

Figure 5 is a sectional view at ,5-5 in Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a support element of the unit.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view at I'I in Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional view at 8-8 in Figure 5.

The means of the present invention essentially comprises a supportmember II which is displaceable under the weight of one or moremerchandise articles A, and a changeable sign I! having its indicationscontrolled in accordance with the number of articles supported by themember H. In the present embodiment of the invention, the support membercomprises a plate forhorizontal disposition, the articles A are shown ascomprising atomizers, and the changeable sign l! is of a type in whichone set of characters is displayed at the sign front when a pane I3thereof is illuminated solely from its front side and another set ofcharacters is displayed at the sign front when the pane i3 isilluminated from its rear side. As illustrated, the pane 13 comprisesone side of a lamp housing which is generally opaque except at the paneand contains a suitable electric lamp H connected in an electric circuitl5 including a control switch It which is arranged to be held open whenthe member is depressed under the weight of articles of merchandisethereon.

As is particularly illustrated, the sign pane I3 has a frosted or groundouter face i1 over which sign characters It are delineated with atranslucent and colored paint or other coating for visibility of thecharacters when the pane is illuminated from the outer side only. At itsinner face IS, the pane is coated with the same colored paint or coatingwhich provides the characters 3 except that the coating 2| is omittedopposite said characters. The arrangement is essentially such that whenthe lamp I4 is lit, the illuminated pane shows as being of uniform colorfor its entire area whereby the characters l8 then become invisible assuch. It will be understood that the color value used in coating theback of the pane in complementary relation to the characters It wouldhave the necessary relation to the color value at said characters forproducing the desired effect of rendering the characters It invisiblefrom the front of the pane.

Sign characters 22 are provided at the rear face of the pane l3independently of the color coating 2| thereon and by the use of a paintor other coating which is opaque, or at least less translucent than thecoating 2! and the characters I 8. In this manner, the characters 22 arearranged to become visible at the front of the pane and in a coloredfield whenever the lamp I4 is lit. In the present instance, theillumination for the front of the pane is assumed to be daylight or thenormal illumination of a store, it being understood, however, that aspecial illumination means might be provided for the sign front withouteflecting the essential operative relations of the changeable sign nowdescribed.

In accordance with the present invention, the reading matter provided bythe characters ll preferably provides an invitation to the removal foran examination and/or a trial of an article A, while the reading matterprovided by the characters 22 more or less directly suggests a purchaseof the article which has been removed.

Since the removal of an article for examination changes the signindications from aninvitation to try to an invitation to buy, thepresent device is understood to provide a complete merchandising methodand means whereby the prospective customer waits on himself and isinvited to buy by reason of his own act of removing the article inresponse to the initial invitation to remove and examine it. Thisself-selling device is understood to minimize the required services of aclerk, while presenting the suggestion of buying in a wholly impersonalmanner. The present provision of the expressions Try One and Buy Me bymeans of the characters l8 and 22 respectively is understood as beinggenerally illustrative of any number of suitable expressions which mightbe used for the described purpose.

The sign l2 may be variously associated with the support II; in thepresent instance, the signal and support are mounted on the same basestructure 23 whereby a unit is provided for disposal on a counter orshow-case or other primary support within reach of prospectivecustomers. The pane I3 is shown as disposed in upright position with itsouter face directed toward the support member H and providing abackground for articles supported on the member.

By particular reference to Figures 5 to 7, inclusive, it will be notedthat the base 23 comprises a hollow structure having an upper wall 24and a lower wall 25. The support member ll comprises a disc and ismounted for a limited movement thereof in a complementary openingprovided in the upper wall 24. As shown, the member H is provided with aradial lug 26 at its forward side, said lug extending forwardly beneaththe wall 24 to a pivoted connection with an ear 21 which depends fromthe under side of the wall. At its opposite side, the member II isprovided with a radial lug 28 which is arranged to engage the under sideof the wall 24 as a stop to limit the upward swinging of the memberthrough the wall opening thereat.

The support member II is constantly urged to maintain its upwardlimiting position through the action of an helical compression spring 29which is operative beneath it at a point adjacent the lug 28. As isparticularly illustrated, the spring 29 is interposed between a bearingplate 3| and a fixed plate 32 which provides a seat for the spring. Thebearing plate 3| provides a point contact with the under side of themember II and the plate 32 is mounted on the base bottom 25. For areason to be hereinafter brought out, the plate 32 is preferablyadjustable with respect to the bottom 25. As shown, the plate 32threadedly engages in the lower portion of a sleeve member 33 which ismounted on the bottom 25, provides an enclosure for the spring 29 and aguideway for the plate 32, and is of such a height that its top edge mayoperate as a stop to limit the downward displacement of the member H.

The mounting of the member II is such that the member is chieflysupported on the spring 29 with its upper face substantially flush withthe upper face of the top base wall 24 at all times whereby themovements of the member may be less noticeable. For further concealingthe member H and its movements, a flexible pad 34 of fibrous or rubbercomposition may be disposed over the member and the upper face of thebase wall 24; in this manner, movements of the member II will not beobserved by the customer, and his attention will not be diverted fromthe merchandise and the sign. It will be und rst od that the form andmounting of the member H may be varied as long as the present objectivesare accomplished.

It will now be noted that the weight of articles to be displayed andsold by the aid of the present device would be variable and that a rackor frame or other base B for the articles may be provided fordisposition on the support II, as is particularly shown. Furthermore,two or more articles'A may be initially disposed on the support ll; saidarticles may be different but are preferably of similar weight. Theadjustability of the disposal of the spring seat 32 permits such aregulation of the operation of the spring 29 that the entire supportedload, including the weight of the member II, will depress said member toopen the lamp circuit at the switch I6, and the removal of one articlewill permit the operation of the support spring to raise the member toclose the switch "5. It will therefore be understood that the presentprovision for the adjustment of the spring pressure between the memberII and the spring seat 32 makes the present apparatus adaptable forcarrying out the present merchandising method with articles of a widerange of shapes and sizes and weights therefor;

In its present embodiment, the switch l6 comprises contacts 35 which arearranged to engage to close the lamp circuit thereat whenever the memberH is in its raised position. As is brought out in Figures 6 and '7, thecontacts 35 are provided on spring arms 36 which extend from aninsulation base 31 which is mounted on the casing bottom 25. The stoplug 28 of the member ll carries a nonconducting member 38 at its lowerside for wedgedly engaging with and between the arms 36 to separate thecontacts 35 whenever the member II is depressed under a full andpredetermined loading of the merchandise thereon. In this manner, thesign lamp [4 is arranged to be energized to effect the display of thesign characters 22 only when an article A is removed from the member llthe arrangement is understood to minimize the operating expense for thesign.

Referring to the structure of the sign proper, it is noted that the sameessentially comprises an upright frame including angle-section sideelements 4i which extend upwardly from the unit base 23 to. have frontflanges 42 thereof coplanar and rear flanges 43 which are angularly andrearwardly convergent whereby the elements provide V-shaped channelswhich receive the pane l3 in and between them, and also the side edgeportions of an element 44 which provides the back of the lamp housing.As shown, the elements 4i are upwardly convergent, whereby the pane andits frame are trapezoidal in outline. The element 44 comprises a sheetof flexible and opaque material which may be appropriately flexed to itsmounted engagement with and between the elements 4| to provide the signback. A top plate 45 provides a top closure for the housing and ispreferably provided with vents for permitting the escape of air heatedby the lamp. While the pane I3 is particularly indicated as being ofglass or some other rigid and transparent material, it will beunderstood that the pane might comprise a sheet of appropriatetransparency, particularly if it is desired to provide andinterchangeably use differently reading signs for the same unit.

If desired, an opening 45 may be provided in the back sign wall 44whereby the lighting of the lamp by reason of the removal of an articleof merchandise may be indicated at the back of the sign withoutknowledge of the customer viewing the sign front. With such anarrangement,

a clerk in the store may be advised of the removal of the articlewhereby his attention may be called to the person who removes it, itbeing understood that the removed article, or a replacement therefor,must be mounted on the member I l before the sign may display itsinitial message. A crystal or lens member 46 may be mounted at theopening 45, and said member may be colored for further attracting theclerk's attention.

While I have herein specifically described the use of light-controlledchangeable sign in a device for the described purpose, it will beunderstood that a changeable sign of the mechanically actuated typemight be used in mechanical association with a load-sensitive supportfor carrying out the general method of the present merchandising device.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the advantages of the construction and method of operationwill be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which theinvention appertains. While I have presented the features and theprinciple of operation of a device which I now con sider to be apreferred embodiment of my invention, I desire to have it understoodthat such changes may be made as fall within the scope of the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. In a self-help merchandising device, a member for supporting anarticle of merchandise, means yieldingly supporting said member for itslimited displacement under the weight of a said article thereon, a signrequiring illumination for rendering its characters visible andreferring to the article of merchandise, a lamp arranged for itslighting to illuminate said sign, and means operated by the member toeffect a lighting of the lamp solely when said member is in itsundisplaced position.

2. In a self-help merchandising device, a displaceable support memberfor removably carrying an article of merchandise within the reach of acustomer and for its displacement from a normal position thereof solelyby reason of the disposal of the article thereon, a changeable signassociated with said member and arranged to automatically presentdifferent reading matter relating to the article before and after thecustomer has removed the article from the member, said sign comprising apane of translucent material for illumination from its front and rearand arranged to display different reading matter thereon whenilluminated from its front and rear respectively, and means operated bythe members to effect the illumination of a pane side solely for onelimiting position of the member.

3. In a self-help merchandising device, a support member for removablycarrying an article of merchandise within the reach of a customer andfor its depression under.the weight of the article thereon, a changeablesign comprising a pane of translucent material for illumination from itsfront and rear to present different reading matter relating to thearticle at its front when it is illuminated from its front alone thanwhen it is illuminated from both its front and rear, an electric lampdisposed behind said pane, and switch means controlled by the member andautomatically operative to close the lamp circuit while the article isremoved from the member.

4. In a self-help merchandising device, a member for supporting anarticle of merchandise, means yieldingly supporting said member for itslimited depression under the weight of said article thereon and itsreturn to its raised position when the article of merchandise is removedtherefrom, a sign requiring illumination for rendering its charactersvisible and referring to the article of merchandise, means operative toilluminate said sign, and a control for said illumination means operatedby the member to render the means operative only when the support memberis in its said raised position.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein the illuminating means comprises anelectric lamp in an electric circuit, and the control means comprises aswitch in said circuit and a switch operating element carried by themember.

6. A merchandising device comprising a member for removably supportingan article of merchandise, means yieldingly supporting said member forits displacement under the weight of said article thereon, a changeablesign arranged for the alternate display of different sets of charactershaving reference to the merchandise, and a sign control means actuatedby the member to effect the display of one set of said characters whenthe article is supported on the member and another set of saidcharacters when the article is removed from the member, said 'sets ofdisplayed sign characters respectively suggesting the removal of thearticle for its examination and the purchase of the removed article.

7. In a self-help merchandising device for use in a store at a pointaccessible to a customer, a platform for removably and completelysupporting a predetermined plural number of articles of merchandise,means resiliently supporting said platform for its displacement underthe weight of said number of articles thereon, means to ad- Just theresistance offered by said support means in such manner that theplatform is arranged to rise when solely the lightest article thereon isremoved therefrom, a changeable sign displaying one set of characterswhile the platform is depressed, and means operated by the platform toeffect the display of a different set of sign characters when saidlightest article is removed from the platform and the platform has risento its undepressed position.

WILLIAM A. McEWEN.

